The Audi drivers for the joint “dream race” of the DTM and the Japanese Super GT Championship at Fuji (Japan) on November 23 and 24 have been confirmed: two DTM Champions and two Japan experts – René Rast, Mike Rockenfeller, Loïc Duval and Benoît Tréluyer – will be competing for the four rings at the foot of famous Mount Fuji.

“Obviously, we’d have preferred taking all of our drivers with us to Japan,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “However, because of the concurrent Formula E season opener alone this wasn’t possible. I’m delighted that all three Audi Sport Teams will be on the grid at Fuji and that our customer team WRT also managed to carry out the commitment in Japan.”

Audi Sport Team Rosberg will be fielding an Audi RS 5 DTM for two-time DTM Champion René Rast. “I’ve never been to Japan and am excited to see what’s awaiting us – that’ll no doubt be a cool event,” says the German who has already tried out the circuit in the simulator. “The track at Fuji has a brutally long straight. Especially in the last section, it’s very technical. All of the cornering radii are very long. That’s going to be interesting, especially in terms of tire wear.”

Mike Rockenfeller, the 2013 DTM Champion, for the two races at Fuji will be returning to Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline with which he celebrated his first victory in the DTM at Zandvoort in 2011. “I know many mechanics and engineers of the team really well,” says the German. “I’m generally looking forward to racing in Japan. I’ve never done that before in my career. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the country, the racing series and the fan culture there.”

Loïc Duval will be competing for Audi Sport Team Phoenix. The Frenchman spent seven years of his career in Japan, lived in Tokyo, won the Super GT title in 2010 and still has many fans in Japan. “I had a fantastic time there and am looking forward to racing in Japan again,” says Duval. “I’m excited about the chance of familiarizing ‘Rocky’ and the others a little with the culture and the racing there. It’ll also be great to meet my fans from the Super GT and the Super Formula again. I’m sure that many people will turn out to see the DTM cars and us drivers. I’m just hoping for the weather to be on our side – that’s a small risk factor at Fuji in November.”

Benoît Tréluyer, who with support by Audi Japan and Hitotsuyama Racing will compete for the customer team WRT Team Audi Sport, enjoys similar popularity in Japan as Duval. The Frenchman won the title in Formula Nippon in 2006 and two years later, the title in the Super GT Championship, too. “The race at Fuji makes a dream come true for me,” says the Le Mans winner and World Endurance Champion. “It combines two elements to which I owe the biggest successes in my career: Japan and Audi. Obviously, after three years with only a few races, it won’t be easy for me. But I’m going to give my best and hope that I won’t disappoint WRT, Audi and my Japanese fans.”

In the “dream race” in Japan, Audi with its Class 1 race cars will be pitted against the factory teams from BMW, Honda, Lexus and Nissan. For the competition of the best teams from Asia and Europe, two races featuring the DTM format are planned.

The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law. Since 1st September 2017, certain new vehicles are already being type-approved according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Starting on September 1st 2018, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) will be replaced by the WLTP in stages. Owing to the more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured according to the WLTP will, in many cases, be higher than those measured according to the NEDC. Therefore, the usage of CO2 emission values measured according to WLTP for vehicle taxation from 1st September 2018 on can cause changes in this regards as well. For further information on the differences between the WLTP and NEDC, please visit
www.audi.de/wltp.

We are currently still required by law to state the NEDC figures. In the case of new vehicles which have been type-approved according to the WLTP, the NEDC figures are derived from the WLTP data. It is possible to specify the WLTP figures voluntarily in addition until such time as this is required by law. In cases where the NEDC figures are specified as value ranges, these do not refer to a particular individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the sales offering. They are intended exclusively as a means of comparison between different vehicle types. Additional equipment and accessories (e.g. add-on parts, different tire formats, etc.) may change the relevant vehicle parameters, such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and, in conjunction with weather and traffic conditions and individual driving style, may affect fuel consumption, electrical power consumption, CO2 emissions and the performance figures for the vehicle.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at
www.dat.de.